My Lady's Hand
by Trevor X
Summary: Fire Emblem 7, AU.  "As they stood before the altar, he recalled the myriad steps that had brought them to this point."


**"My Lady's Hand" **

Summary: _"She trained to be a lady until she was wed."_

Pairing: Eliwood/Isadora

_Disclaimer: Fire Emblem and its characters are owned by IS and Nintendo. I merely own my creative ideas for storylines and the sweat, tears, and blood that produced this work. No monetary profit is accrued; I only get hits and reviews. _

~o~

It was a short walk to the altar where they joined hands and exchanged their pledges. Such a short walk on the journey that had taken them years to begin. As they held hands and listened to the bishop reciting the traditional invocation of consecrated bindings, Eliwood of Pherae pondered the multitude of steps that had led them to this point...

~o~

_In the beginning it was words._

He was good with speech writing, words came naturally to him. It sometimes seemed that whatever dam held back his emotions from spilling forth had lost its flood gates in the days of his youth before he'd learned the value of tact. Though he'd never been as rude as his best friend, there had been a tendency towards excessive speaking in the beginning. It might have been a method for compensation until the time when he acquired the ability to think things through on his own and decide upon a decisive course of action, but whatever the reason, it was a trait that required hard work to shape into an asset.

Isadora proved a good listener, however. Though he spoke many secrets in her presence and bared the walls of his soul in all its weakness, she never berated him, never once betrayed his trust in her. The counsel she gave him in those hours became pillars that he clung unconsciously to in the face of all the trials that beset his path. Many nights found her by his side, whether in speech or in silent contemplation.

He found himself trying out ideas in her presence, using his knight as a sounding board. And each time that she responded with a clear, concise answer or rebuttal, Eliwood found his appreciation growing.

_That was all that it was in the beginning of the journey..._

~o~

_Observations led to emotions._

Isadora usually maintained a calm demeanor, but circumstances could conspire to pull her off kilter. Eliwood could recall the first time that he'd seen her break in front of him; it had been the day that Harken had reappeared before them in the ruins. He had never seen her pale and certainly the woman had never trembled in all the time that he'd known her.

Harken was a man who thought that he had broken something, and in his efforts to compensate for his guilt, ended up breaking things that should have been even more precious to him. Though Eliwood welcomed the knight into the ranks and bade him leave off the guilt of failing in his prior mission, he did not miss the way that Isadora ignored the man.

It was the first time that she did not speak with him in the evening and the young lord found his path meandering towards her tent. Unseen in the darkness, he witnessed an altercation between the former lovers that concerned him greatly. Harken vacillated between denying himself the light of his former life and his obsession with returning to the comfort that he had known.

Isadora seemed highly disinclined to return to anything that would remind them of that time. _"You left me! You rode off with our lord and when he vanished, you did not return. No word came to us save that Lord Elbert and his retinue could not be found. Do you know how that made me feel? And with your freedom, did it not occur to you to ease the suffering of those who were left behind? Could you not have sent some word that our lord still lived?"_

She turned away from the shadow of her betrothed and wrapped her arms tightly around herself. _"My lady mourned the absence of her husband and I mourned the life we might have shared. By her command I came here to see to the safety of her son and I will not break her heart by betraying my vows like you have done."_

Harken could have said more, could have pled his case. Eliwood watched silently while the knight took a step backwards and retreated. When he left, Isadora broke down completely and Eliwood withdrew from the place to give her privacy. She did not know that he had observed such a thing and he would honor her faithfulness to him in this matter by not making mention of it.

That did not mean that he could not act to ensure that Isadora would not have to deal with the pain on a daily basis; Eliwood turned his path towards the command tent and broached the subject with his fellow commanders. Harken ended up quartered on the outside of the force away from the center of the camp where the lords and their bodyguards were encamped. With his prior knowledge of the area, Harken was attached to the forward scouts and charge of him fell to Marcus.

For a time, Isadora collected her reserve and returned to the calm, collected individual that Eliwood had grown to appreciate. But even as their evenings resumed, Eliwood began to look deeper and notice traces of the hurt young woman that had surfaced in Harken's presence.

Though he never mentioned it to Isadora, his desire to protect her was sparked from this point.

~o~

_Intimacy brought forth affection._

His desire for Ninian had burned brightly for a time even after he found that she consorted with another. Indeed, it had been his need for someone to share his burdens that Eliwood began meeting with Isadora; in time, the ardency of the desire waned as he saw the young dancer finding fulfillment with another man, remaining but a dull ache of the heart.

Between that starting point and the nights before the Dragon's Gate, the young lord came to the realization that his heart had begun to change. Now instead of pining for the light that he could not have, he instead found himself longing for the evening to come so that he might have the pleasure of Isadora's company.

When the thought positioned itself at the forefront of his mind, Eliwood was thankfully in circumstances where it did not distract him nor render him speechless. Instead he had time to ponder, at least for the few moments between the epiphany and Isadora's arrival. By the time his knight arrived, Eliwood had taken it upon himself to suggest a few scenarios and see how she might react to them.

_It was destined to be a night of interesting revelations..._

~o~

As a knight, Isadora was strong; it was a role that she had trained her life for, a path that she had chosen from her youth. It did detract from her time to focus on being a woman, and thus left her slightly bewildered by the factors of life that come with such a role, resulting in a lack of confidence when she met with times that required the role.

Eliwood notes this as he speaks with her. With battle and wielding weapons, she states her opinions firmly. Faced with other points of life, she will hesitate and haltingly offer suggestions. He wonders whether anyone has ever bothered to show her real affection in her life; if so, it must have been long ago, for Isadora is starved for such emotions.

She fears abandonment, to be left alone or behind. Eliwood offers her stability, connection, and devotion. Perhaps it is not so concise in the way that he presents his case, but his knight understands the connotations behind them. Her lord is offering her something that she never expected of him, despite the kindness of his heart.

The question is clear; _will she accept his offer and become something more than just his knight?_

Aware that it will take some time before she comes to a conclusion, Eliwood gently releases her to think about it. His words cannot sway her at this point; it will need courage of the heart to tread away from the familiar path." Isadora hesitates at the door of the tent and her whispered question reaches back to him.

_"What if you leave me?"_

Eliwood smiles. _"If I must go anywhere, then just follow along beside me."_

In some other life, perhaps the words would have caused Isadora to throw herself into her suitor's arms with tears of relief flowing freely. Here, she manages a strangled smile that strives to hide the emotion that roils in her breast. Despite her best efforts, Eliwood notes the stubborn tear trail that snakes down her cheek.

_In the end, she accepts his offer and Eliwood is relieved. He does not know whether his heart could stand rejection twice in such a short time._

~o~

_From the time of their departure from the dread isle, Isadora strove to learn the subtle nuances that would be required of her in 'polite' company. Eliwood insists that she doesn't have to put herself out in such a fashion, that he would be happy with her just the way she is, but the knight cannot be a lady without the effort and only a lady may follow him onto some of the battlefields that he may see in the future._

_As a knight, she would be relegated to watching. As his lady, she can protect him in that arena as well._

_Both are singularly grateful that upon their return to the keep, Eleanora greets them with a smile, a hug and only a modicum of tears..._

~o~

In the end, they stand together. Consecrated by the words of the priest and blessed by the maternal figure that stands in front of the crowd gathered to witness the binding, Eliwood leans forward and kisses his lady.

_The End?_

~o~

**Notes**: Meaning of names... sorta. _(I had to extrapolate Eliwood as I could not find a proper meaning for his name.)_

Gift of the Moon - Isadora

Wood of the God, Wood of Ascension - Eliwood

I may grow fond of this pairing as an alternate of sorts. Points for most of the writing were taken from Isadora's conversations with Harken (Le Cad), Legualt (Le Sneak), Renault (Le Fake), and the rest of the cast who support her (they don't rate monikers here tho). Hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I did in the writing.


End file.
